Coin wrapping method and machine



July 29, 1969 J. K. M COLLOUGH ETAL COIN WRAPPING METHOD AND MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 2, 1967 INVENTORS K.MCCOLLOUGH H. MURRAY JOHN JOHN ATTORNEY July 29, 1969 J. K. M COLLOUGH ETAL 3,457,595

COIN WRAPPII G METHOD AND MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 2. 196'? INVENTORS ATTORNEY J. K. M COLLOUGH ETAL 3,457,695

COIN WRAPPING METHOD AND MACHINE July 29, 1969 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 2, 1967 52 e HlF FIG-5- ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,457,695 CDIN WRAPFING METHOD AND MACHINE John K. McCullough and John H. Murray, Spartanburg, S.C., assignors to Clemson Industries, Inc., White Stone, S.C., a corporation of Delaware Filed June 2, 1967, Ser. No. 643,258 Int. Cl. B65b 57/04, 9/10 US. Cl. 53-30 10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The method of and the machine to produce a compact substantially transparent package of wrapped coins. The method and machine basically encompasses counting a preselected number of coins, placing the coins in a pillow pack package of heat shrinkable film material and shrinking of the package around the coins to produce a compact package.

This invention relates generally to the wrapping of a preselected number of coins in a package to facilitate handling and more particularly to the wrapping of a preselected number of coins in a heat shrunk film material package.

Prior to this invention coins have been wrapped in preformed tubes which after the insertion of the coins has to be, in most instances, manually closed to retain the coins in the container. Furthermore, in financial institutions, where a large number of coins have to be wrapped to handle every day transactions, it is necessary to inventory large amounts of preformed tubes resulting in the loss of a lot of area which could be utilized for a more profitable operation. Also, the manual method of handling coins is slow and laborious since an operator must pick up each of the tubes, place a counted number of coins in the tube and then move the tube to another station to crimp the end of the tube over the coins.

Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a new and novel wrapped coin package.

Another object of the invention is to provide a package of a preselected number of coins wrapped compactly in a heat shrunk film material.

A third object of the invention is to provide a novel method to automatically and efficiently package a preselected number of coins.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel machine which automatically and efficiently packages a preselected number of coins at a minimum cost.

A fifth object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus to wrap a preselected number of coins in a heat shrinkage package of film material.

Other objects and advantages will be clearly apparent as the specification proceeds to describe the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the novel wrapped package prior to heat shrinking of the package;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the completed novel wrapped package of coins;

FIGURE 3 is a front view partially broken away and partially in section showing the new coin wrapping machine;

FIGURE 4 is a side view of the conveying and heat shrinking portion of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a View taken generally on line 55 in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 shows the coin pallet mechanism in the inoperative position;

FIGURE 7 shows the coin pallet in the coin reject position; and

FIGURE 8 shows the coin pallet mechanism in the coin drop position.

FIGURE 1 shows the coins wrapped in a heat shrinkable thermoplastic film material. Numerous heat shrinkable thermoplastic films are commercially available which can be employed to provide the wrapping 10 around the coins 12. Examples of thermoplastic heat shrinkable materials suitable for the purpose are S. T. Vetafilm made by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company; Polypropolin, a product of Dow Chemical; Cry-O-Vac, a product of W. R. Grace Co.; and Reynolon, which is made and sold by Reynolds Aluminum Company.

Looking now to FIGURE 1, a preselected number of conis 12 to be wrapped are enclosed in a bag of heat shrinkable thermoplastic film material 10. The bag 10 is defined by a transverse seal 14 at both ends substantially parallel to one another and a longitudinal seal 16 extending from transverse seal to transverse seal to enclose the coins 12.

FIGURE 2 shows the package of FIGURE 1 after it has been subjected to a heat treatment in a shrink oven, such as 32, at appropriate temperatures. The film material 10 has been shrunk around the coins 12 to form a compact wrapping. Preferably, the transverse seal shrinks to a size which is shorter in diameter than the diameter of the coin being packaged, thereby pulling the longitudinal seal 16 around the edge of the end coins in the package to provide a tight fit. Depending on the film material and the size of initial package the shrunk transverse seal can be longer or shorter but should not be any longer than the diameter of the coins being packaged.

Most commercially available film material 10 is transparent and/ or translucent which is advantageous since the ultimate consumer can verify the count of coins in the package without breaking open the package. The package or film material 10 can be suitably printed on to show the number of coins therein and/or the institution from which it came. Other suitable information can, of course, be printed thereon.

FIGURES 48 show in detail the method and apparatus to produce the novel package of coins shown in FIG- URE 2. Looking now in particular to FIGURE 3, the overall coin packaging machine will be described. Briefly, a predetermined number of coins is delivered from the coin counter 18 through a tube 20 to the coin collection tube 22. From the coin collection tube 22 the coins are dropped into a tube 24 of heat shrinkable thermoplastic material which is heat sealed at one end by a pair of heat sealing jaws 26. The jaws 26 are lowered and then raised to seal the package above the coins and sever the package 28 from the tube. The loosely wrapped packages will then fall onto the conveyor 30 where they are delivered to the shrink oven 32 (FIGURE 4) and the heat shrinkable thermoplastic material is shrunk to form the package shown in FIGURE 2.

As pointed out above the coin counter 18 mounted on the machine frame 34 can be any commercially available model which will supply a predetermined number of coins to the metal coin collection tube 22. Interposed between the coin collection tube 22 and the coin counter 18 is an electric eye arrangement schematically represented by a photocell 36 and a light source 38 to count the coins being delivered to the collection tube 22 to verify that the coin counter is delivering the proper number of coins. To efficiently use the electric eye coin counter it is necessary that each coin be spaced from another. To insure such spacing an endless belt 40 driven by roller 42 and guided by idlers 44 and 46 engages the top of coin counter 18 to engage individually the top surface of each coin and in cooperation with the scray or chute 48 drop the coins endwise through the tube 20 into the collection tube 22 3 past the electric eye arrangement. The spacing between the endless belt 40 and the scray 48 is such that only one coin at a time will drop into the tube 20 over the scray 48.

Looking now to FIGURES 6-8 in conjunction with FIGURES 3 and 5, the operation of the collection tube 22 will be explained. The collection tube is pivotally supported on shaft member 50 through lever member 52 which engages the upper portion of the tube 22. Located below the tube 22 is a pallet member 54 which covers the bottom opening of the collection tube 22 as the coins from the coin counter 18 drop thereinto. Pallet member 54 is also pivotally connected to shaft member 50. Shaft member 50 is in turn supported by suitable members 56 and 58 mounted to an internal structural member 60. Welded or otherwise secured to the lever member 52 and the pallet member 54 are upstanding plate members 62 and 64, respectively. Operably connected to plate members 62 and 64, respectively, are solenoid actuators 66 and 68 of solenoids 70 and 72.

FIGURE 6 is a top view of the collection tube 22 when neither of the solenoids 70 or 72 are actuated and coins are being supplied to the collection tube 22. If after the predetermined number of coins has been supplied from the coin counter 18 to the collection tube 22, the electric eye indicates that the number of coins is incorrect the solenoid 70 will be actuated to pivot the lever 52 and consequently the collection tube 22 to a position indicated in FIGURE 7 and the coins will be dropped into a collector (not shown) and be returned to the coin counter 18. If the electric eye arrangement indicates that the coin count is correct the solenoid 72 will be energized to rotate the pallet member 54 in a direction away from the direction of rotation of lever member 52 and allow the coins to drop into the tube 24 of that shrinkable thermoplastic material to be packaged.

As previously discussed the coins are enclosed, as shown in FIGURE 1 in a bag of heat shrinkable thermoplastic material. This material is supplied in sheet or web form to the machine from a roll 74 over idler rolls 76, 78 and 80 to a pair of forming rings 82 and 84 where it is formed into tube 24 over an elongated metal tube 25. In the preferred form of the invention the edges of the web material overlap one another when formed into tube 24 and are heat sealed in the longitudinal direction by heat sealer 87 mounted adjacent thereto to form the longitudinal seal 16.

Preferably, the coins are wrapped in a substantially continuous process and to this end is provided the pair of heat sealing and severing jaws 26. The jaws 26 are mounted on a vertically reciprocating carriage 86 guided in its movement by collar members 88 which telescope over guide members 90 secured to the machine. The carriage 86 is reciprocably moved by any suitable means such as motor driven cam 92 and crank arm 94 (FIGURE 5). Cams 92 are connected to shafts 93 which are synchronized with one another to provide equal movement of both sides of the carriage 86.

In operation the jaws 26 on the up position (solid lines FIGURE 3) clamp the tube 24 therebetween to seal one one end of the package. The jaws are designed to provide a substantially flat surface for the reception of the coins Within the tube. Then the predetermined number of coins from the collection tube are dropped into the shrink film tube 24. The jaws 26 while still in contact with the tube 24 are moved downwardly to the dotted position (FIG- URE 3) and simultaneously moves the tube 24 downwardly since the jaws are still in contact. A severing means (not shown) is located in one or the other of jaws 26 and is actuated to sever the tube 24 in the center of the transverse seal, formed in the up position, to release the previously formed package. The piston members 96 and 98 are then released to pull the jaws 26 outwardly away from one another and the carriage 86 moves to the up position again where the piston members 96 and 98 are again actuated to clamp the tube 24 and heat seal the same to close the upper portion of the previously filled portion of the tube 24 and to provide the bottom seal for the next portion of the tube 24 to be filled with coins.

The wrapped coin package severed from the jaws 26 in the lower position generally looks like the package shown in FIGURE 1 and is dropped onto a conveying means such as conveyor 30 to be delivered to a shrink oven 32 to form the finished package as shown in FIGURE 2.

Looking now to FIGURE 4 it can be seen that the package 28 released from the jaws 26 drops into a pocket on the conveyor belt 100 which can be driven continuously or intermittently to supply the package 28 to the shrink oven 32 to obtain the finished product shown in FIGURE 2. In the preferred form of the invention the belt 100 is driven continuously at a speed predetermined in relation to the temperature of the oven 32 and the shrink film used to provide the most efficient package.

The oven 32 is any conventional oven employed to shrink heat shrinkable thermoplastic film material and includes a heater (not shown) to provide a source of hot air directed onto the package 28 by the fan 102. Preferably an electric heater is used which will provide hot air temperature in the range of 275 F. to 700 F. depending on the speed of the conveyor 100 and the particular shrink film employed. Preferably the velocity of the air imparted to the oven 32 should be about 750 feet to 2000 feet per minute. The packages of coins are delivered from the oven 32 by the conveyor 100 to any suitable position for any necessary further processing such as packaging for de livery.

The herein disclosed method and apparatus to wrap a predetermined number of coins is automatic and efficient and provides a coin package which is compactly held together and does not require manual operation nor does it require the inventory of large amounts of wrapping supplies. The method and machine is continuous and provides a greater number of wrapped coins in a shorter time, thereby increasing productivity.

Although we have described in detail the preferred embodiment of our invention, we contemplate that many changes may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention and we desire to be limited only by the claims.

That which is claimed is:

1. A method to wrap a plurality of coins comprising the steps of: forming a web of heat shrinkable thermoplastic film material into a tube, transversely sealing a first portion of said tube, supplying a predetermined number of coins into a collection area, automatically counting said coins prior to the supply thereof into said collection area, supplying said predetermined number of coins from said collection area into said tube, automatically stopping the supply of coins into said tube if the correct number of coins is not fed to the collection area, sealing a second portion of said tube closed above said coins, severing said closed tube portion from said web of material and heat shrinking said severed tube portion around said coins to provide a compact coin package.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said coins are fed from a coin counter to said collection area one at a time.

3. A method to wrap a plurality of coins comprising the steps of: forming a web of heat shrinkable thermoplastic film material into a tube, automatically sealing closed a portion of said tube, automatically supplying a predetermined number of coins into said tube above the sealed portion thereof, automatically sealing a second portion of said tube closed above said coins, automatically severing said closed tube portion from said web of material and automatically supplying said closed tube to a shrink oven and heat shrinking said severed tube portion around said coins to provide a compact coin package.

4. The method of claim 3 including the step of counting the number of coins being supplied to said tube.

5.. The method of claim 3 including the step of feeding said coins into a collection area prior to supplying said coins into said tube.

6. A machine to provide a wrapped coin package: a coin counter means, a supply of heat shrinkable thermoplastic film material, means to form said film material into a tube, heat sealing means to seal the longitudinal edge of said tube of said film material, means to supply a predetermined number of coins from said coin counter into said tube of film material, heat sealing jaw means to seal one portion of said tube prior to supplying coins into said tube, move said tube downwardly and to seal said tube above said coins, means operably associated with said heat sealing jaw means to sever said tube of coins from said film supply, heating means to shrink said film material and means to automatically transfer sealed severed tubes of coins to said heating means to shrink said film material around said coins to complete the formation of a compact coin package.

7. The structure of claim 6 where a means is provided between said coin counter and tube to count the number of coins being suppplied to said tube.

8. The structure of claim 7 wherein said means to count said coins includes a photocell and a light source.

9. The structure of claim 6 wherein said means to supply coins to said tube of film material includes a hollow collection tube and pallet means at the bottom of said tube to prevent said coins from being supplied to said tube of film material until a predetermined number of coins has been supplied to said collection tube.

10. The structure of claim 9 wherein a coin counting means is located between said collection tube and said coin counter to count the coins as they pass thereby and means responsive to said coin counting means to move said collection tube to a position out of alignment with said tube of film material.

10 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,841,934 7/1958 Schoenewolf 53-78 X l 3,221,903 12/1965 Van Geen 5361 X FOREIGN PATENTS 973,189 10/1964 Great Britain. 1,015,716 1/1966 Great Britain.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner E. F. DESMOND, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 53-182, 254 

